Dark Promises
10
JUN/21
Vashir looked down upon the giant headless statue from the back of his winged horse, as the magnificent steed lazily circled the giant form looking for a safe place to land. In that moment, Vashir wondered why he suddenly found himself thinking of Valdar. When the party had all landed, he slid off of his mount and began searching the base of the statue while the rest of the group wondered about who the massive statue represented and what had happened to sever her giant stone head. Vashir was instead magnetically drawn to the secret door in the back of the statue, finding it as readily as if he had known that it would be there; unlocking it with his thieves’ tools with a satisfying click.
“I’ve found a ladder that leads inside,” he said to the others as he began uncoiling the rope from his pack to aid in the descent.
“Why are we going in there?” Arnia asked, quizzically. “Don’t we have a dinner engagement and a plan to sneak into the Sand Voyager warehouse tonight?”
Vashir paused in his tracks, uncertain as to why he felt the draw to go down into the dark unknown. Ixen had indeed scouted out the Sand Voyager warehouse last night and had found the entrance into a secret room beneath the storeroom. They had made arrangements with the second son of the Sultan as well, with Prince Korus putting his own men on patrol at the warehouse this very night. And Oni had made several dinner engagements with some of the other guards, which could be used to gain other information.
I don’t know; I just know I need to go in. He did not say that aloud, instead replying, “Well, we are here now – we can just scout out the entrance to this hidden area and still return in time to make our dinner arrangements.” He was lying, of course. He just did not know exactly how he knew that he was lying – there was just something here: something dark and familiar; something beckoning to him, daring him to enter; something that reminded him of Valdar.
The rest of the group agreed to descend into the dark unknown, doing so with varying degrees of uncertainty and skill. David used his Psionic powers to ascertain that the last group of adventurers that had entered the hidden area a few years earlier had not exited from it – at least not from this door. This bit of information didn’t bode well for what lay within, but neither did it tamp down the irresistible draw that Vashir felt to forge on. He had to see what waited inside.
As they worked their way through the darkness, Vashir constantly found himself thinking of his younger brother. The child had always looked up to him; at least up until Valdar learned that it was in his best interest to challenge his older brother rather than admire him. Vashir had confided to Vlaska on several occasions that he feared that he might one day have to kill the triplets, especially as they grew in competence and confidence; but it had hardly occurred to him that he might actually do so. Now, the three boys were dead, rotting upon the streets of Raam by the hands of the people Vashir now traveled with. Pure, simple, primal and brutal synchronicity.
Onward through the depths he pushed on, heedless of the pitfalls and traps and undead minions that protected this sanctum to a dark power. The clue to what had happened to Valdar lay within the darkness, and Vashir was driven to find it. Not out of any sense of familial loyalty or sense of duty he knew, but rather for a desire for vengeance. And, if he was being honest with himself, this desire was also perhaps tinged with some small curiosity about whether the force which had granted its dark boon to his brother might likewise make a similar offer to him. And would he accept it if so? They needed whatever power they could get for what lay ahead. And so they continued on, pressing forth, onward through the darkness…